.,---«si»«?s: 


'  ^  ''»m 


si 


:;^^ 


2^th  Congress,  [SENATE.]  f  295  1 


IN  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


April  13,  1846, 


Mr.  Breese  made  the  follo¥/iiig  ' 

REPORT: 

[To  accompany  bill  S.  No.  154] 

Whe  Commidee  on  Public  Lands,  to  ivhom  was  refermd  the  memmial  of 
the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company,  have  had  the  sarnie 
under  cmisideration^  and  respectfully  ask  leave  to  report : 

The  memorial  sets  forth  that  in  1836  the  legislature  of  the  State  of 
illinois  incorporated  a  company  styled  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union 
Railroad  Company,  with  authority  to  lay  out  and  construct  a  railroad  from 
the  town  of  Galena,  near  the  Mississippi  river,  the  heart  of  the  great  lead- 
«iine  region,  to  the  town  of  Chicago,  at  the  head  of  lake  Michigan. 

The  petition  proceeds  to  set  forth  the  importance  of  this  road  as  it 
regards  the  citizens  of  the  State  of  Illinois  and  the  United  States,  and  the 
advantages  that  will  result  from  its  construction  to  the  agricultural,  mining, 
■and  commercial  interests,  and  prefers  the  request  that  Congress  will  grant 
to  them  the  right  of  way  through  the  public  lands,  and  a  pre-emption  ta  a 
<]uantity  thereof  equal  to  five  sections  of  land  lying  within  ten  miles  of  the 
route  of  the  road,  for  every  mile  of  said  road. 

To  determine  the  propriety  of  this  request,  the  committee  have  made  all 
the  inquiry  in  their  power  as  to  the  facts  stated  in  the  memorial,  and  find 
that  a  charter  has  been  granted  as  stated,  which  is  here  appended  j  and 
that  the  counties  and  towns  most  immediately  interested  in  its  construc- 
tion have  manifested  a  becoming  zeal  and  earnestness  in  originating 
measures  tending  to  its  completion,  and  take  a  lively  interest  in  its  suc- 
cess, though  the  committee  are  not  informed  that  any  funds  have,  as  yet, 
been  appropriated  towards  it,  except  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  pre- 
Jiminary  arrangements  and  explorations  of  the  route. 

From  the  proceedings  of  a  very  respectable  convention,  held  at  Rock- 
ford,  one  of  the  principal  towns  on  the  route,  whose  memorial,  on  the 
same  subject,  is  now  before  the  committee,  the  committee  are  induced  to 
believe  that  the  prospects  of  its  completion  are  very  flattering,  and,  with 
the  aid  asked  of  Congress,  they  have  strong  assurances  that  it  will  be  con- 
structed. The  route  of  the  road  is,  for  the  most  part,  over  undulating 
prairie,  requiring  no  expensive  grading,  or  other  works  which  tend  so 
greatly  to  increase  the  cost.  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  and  owned  almost 
wholly  by  the  United  States,  and  is  represented  to  be,  in  addition  to  its 
mineral  wealth,  one  of  the  best  wheat-growing  countries  in  the  world.  It 
is  only  within  a  very  few  years  that  the  resources  of  northern  Illinois  have 

Rkcliie  &  Heiss,  pri  uu 


[  295  ]  2 

commenced  a  development.  That  portion  of  it  most  directly  interested  in 
this  road  has  increased  in  population  in  the  last  ten  years  on  a  basis  of 
fifteen  thousand,  then  the  total  amount  in  1836,  to  one  hundred  thousand^ 
or  near  seven  hundred  per  cent.,  and  is  progressing  in  the  same  astonishing 
ratio.  In  the  eleven  counties  in  which  these  remarkable  results  are  exhib- 
ited, the  production  of  wheat  had  increased  in  the  last  five  years  from  five 
hundred  thousand  to  two  millions  seven  hundred  thousand  bushels,  of 
which  two  millions  were  exported  at  a  cost  of  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel, 
the  transportation  to  the  point  of  export  being  in  wagons,  and  distant  one 
hundred  miles.  During  the  last  season  more  than  fifty-five  millions  of 
pounds  of  lead  were  shipped  from  Galena,  the  western  terminus  of  the 
proposed  road,  (a  city  of  five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  grc^t  lead 
depot  of  the  west,)  by  the  Mississippi,  for  the  eastern  markets,  the  most  of 
which,  it  is  believed,  would  find  a  cheaper  and  more  expeditious  channel,, 
h^  this  road  and  the  lakes,  to  the  great  markets  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard; 
for  whilst,  by  New  Orleans  to  New  York,  the  freight  per  one  hundred 
pounds  is  seventy-one  cents,  by  the  road  and  the  lakes  it  would  be  but 
fifty-six  cents;  and  whilst  the  time  consumed  by  the  former  route  is  ninety 
days,  by  the  road  and  lakes  it  would  be  but  twenty-five  days;  and  the 
insurance  less,  the  dangers  being  less. 

Chicago,  the  eastern  and  lalce  terminus,  is  now  a  city  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  grown  up  to  this  vast  size  since  1830,  and  commands, 
by  its  enviable  position  for  the  exchange  of  agricultural  for  manufactured 
products,  a  vast  extent  of  territory.  The  time  cannot  be  distant  when  the 
extent  and  high  improvement  of  the  countrj'-  southwest,  Avest,  and  north- 
west of  it,  for  which  this  point  will  be  the  mart  for  commercial  operations, 
will  place  it  second  to  no  city  in  the  lake  region.  Its  imports  are  now 
near  two  millions  annually,  and  its  exports  one  and  a  quarter  milUon,  and 
greatly  increasing. 

The  committee  have  thought  it  was  necessary  merely  to  glance  at  these 
topics,  and  present  them,  to  the  Senate  as  furnishing  some  evidence  of  a 
reasonable  probabihty  that  the  road  will  be  constructed  to  accommodate  a 
trade  now  so  great,  and  giving  every  promise  of  a  rapid  increase.  In  con- 
nexion with  the  roads  now  in  jnogress  of  completion  across  the  peninsula 
of  Michigan,  a  speedy,  safe,  and  cheap  route  will  be  had  from  our  Atlantic- 
cities  to  the  Mississippi  river,  and  at  a  point  now,  and  ever  to  be,  the 
centre  of  the  great  lead  trade,  and  passing  through  a  region  which,  for 
salubrity  of  climate,  beauty  of  landscape,  and  agricultural  resources,  may 
challenge  the  world. 

The  committee  do  not  remark  upon  the  advantages  which  would  be 
derived  at  all  times  for  the  safe  and  speedy  transportation  of  the  mail,  and 
in  time  of  war  in  the  movement  of  troops  and  munitions  of  war,  they  being 
so  obvious  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  every  one  by  the  construction  of  a 
road  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  and  in  time  to  be  extended  to 
rich  and  fertile  regions  beyond  it. 

Though  these  are  weighty  considerations,  yet  there  are  others  which 
have  engaged  the  attention  of  the  committee,  and  in  which  the  pecuniary 
interests  of  the  United  States  are  concerned. 

The  route  of  this  road  being  for  the  most  part  ovei-  prairie  lands,,  and  fer 
removed  from  any  cheap  and  certain  means  of  conveyance,  they  are  now 
unsaleable,  and  may  continue  so  for  many  years,  dispensing  no  benefits, 
either  to  the  United  States  or  to  the  State,  through  the  taxing  power. 


S  [  295  ] 

This  road  guaranties  an  extensive  sale  of  them;  for  the  same  motive  which 
influences  the  company  to  obtain  a  pre-emption  right,  will  induce  others 
to  purchase  the  remaining  lands,  near  the  route,  so  soon  as  they  have  an 
assurance  that  the  road  will  be  completed  in  a  reasonable  time.  The 
amount  of  vacant  lands  within  ten  miles  of  the  route  of  this  road,  the 
committee  estimate  at  near  two  millions  of  acres,  and  they  will  remain  so 
unless  made  available  for  settlement  by  this  improvement.  The  United 
States  have,  therefore,  a  direct  pecuniary  interest  in  its  execution. 
•  The  memorial  does  not  ask  for  any  donation  of  land,  in  aid  of  die  enter- 
prise, as  a  consideration  for  tlie  benefits  which  may  accrne  from  the  road 
to  the  people  at  large^  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  or  to  the  United  States.  All 
they  ask  is  a  pre-emption  right  to  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  which  are 
to  be  enhanced  in  value  by  this  improvement.  They  ask  for  the  privilege 
of  making  them  valuable,  and  then  paying  the  government  the  minimum 
price  for  them. 

in  conceding  this,  the  United  States  give  nothing.  All  the  vacant  lands 
proposed  to  be  embraced  in  the  privilege  have  been  in  market  many  years 
at  the  price  the  company  propose  to  give  for  them,  and  if  the  road  be  not 
completed,  will,  together  with  the  remaining  tracts  now  vacant,  remain 
unsaleable  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time.  But  wliether  sold  at  a  near  or 
distant  period,  before  the  road  is  completed,  or  afterwards,  all  the  United 
States  can  receive  for  them  will  be  not  over  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre,  the  minimum  government  price.  And  if  part  of  the  en- 
hanced value  of  the  lands  can  be  made  available  in  anticipation  of  the 
construction  of  the  road,  it  is  certainly,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee,' 
more  just  that  it  should  go  into  the  hands  of  those  who  encounter  all  the 
responsibilities  attached  to  so  great  and  useful  an  undertaking,  than  to 
those  who  may  buy  at  government  price,  and  see  tlieir  lands  increased  in 
value  fourfold  by  an  enterprise  to  which  they  contribute  nothing.  If  any 
tax  be  just  for  the  construction  of  internal  improvements,  it  is  one  wliich 
falls  exclusively  upon  the  lands  and  other  real  property  whose  value  it 
enhances.  A  right  of  way  through  the  public  lands  is  also  asked  for  hy 
the  memorialists.  As  the  construction  of  the  railroad  cannot  reduce,  but 
will  very  certainly  increase  the  value  of  the  lands  through  which  it  passes, 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  will  sell,  subject  to  this  easement,  at  the 
government  price.  The  grant  of  diat  rigiit,  therefore,  will  be  but  securing 
to  the  company  a  portion  of  the  increased  value  given  by  them  to  such 
tracts,  not  by  pre-emption,  but  by  a  process  leading  partially  to  the  same 
result. 

In  accordance  with  these  views  the  committee  report  a  bill. 


AN  ACT  to  incorpora'e  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company,  approved  Janu- 
ary 16,  1836. 

Theo's  W.  Smith,  president-,  Edmund  D.  Taylor,  Josiah  C.  Goodhue, 
John  T.  Temple,  George  Smith,  Ebenezer  Peck,  James  H.  Collins,  di- 
rectors. 

Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  representedin 
the  General  Assetnbli/,  That  all  such  persons  as  shall  become  stockholders, 
agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  in  the  corporation  hereby  created, 


[  295  ]  i 

shall  be,  and  for  the  terai  of  sixty  years  fiom  and  after  the  passage  of  th& 
act  shall  continue  to  be,  a  body  corporate  and  politic^  by  the  name  of  the 
'^Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company,"  and  by  that  name  shall 
have  succession  for  the  term  of  years  above  specified;  may  sue  and  be  sued, 
complain  and  defend,  in  any  court  of  law  or  equity;  may  make  and  use  a 
common  seal,  and  alter  the  same  at  pleasure;  may  make  by-laws,  rules, 
and  regulations  for  the  management  of  property,  the  regulation  of  its  affairs^ 
and  for  the  transfer  of  its  stock,  not  inconsistent  with  the  existing  laws 
and  the  constitution  of  this  State  and  of  the  United  States;  and  may 
moreover  appoint  such  subordinate  agents,  oiRcers,  and  servants,  as  the 
business  of  the  said  corporation  may  require,  and  allow  to  them  a  suitable 
compensation,  prescribe  their  duties,  and  require  bond  for  the  faithful 
performance  thereof,  in  such  penal  sums  and  with  such  sureties  as  they 
ma)'-  choose,  who  shall  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure  of  a  majority 
of  the  directors  of  the  said  corporation. 

Sec.  2.  The  said  corporation  shall  have  the  right  to  construct,  and 
during  its  continuance  to  maintain  and  continue,  a  railroad  with  a  single  or 
double  track,  and  with  such  appendages  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  for 
the  convenient  use  of  the  same,  from  the  town  of  Galena,  in  the  county  of 
Jo  Daviess,  to  such  point  at  the  town  of  Chicago  as  shall  be  determined, 
after  a  survey  siiali  have  been  made  of  the  route,  to  be  the  most  eligible, 
proper,  direct,  and  convenient  therefor. 

Sec  3.  The  capital  stock  of  the  said  corporation  sliall  be  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  which  shall  be  deemed  personal  property,  and  shall  be 
divided  into  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars  each.  The  capital  stock  of 
said  corporation  may  at  any  time  hereafter  be  increased  to  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding one  million  of  dollars,  if  the  same  shall  be  judged  necessary  to 
the  completion  of  the  said  Avork,  and  the  same  shall  be  subscribed  for  and 
taken  under  the  direction  of  the  directors  of  the  said  corporation,  wherever 
they  shall  direct  one  or  more  books  to  be  opened  for  such  purpose,  and 
shall  be  subscribed  and  taken  in  such  manner  as  the  directors  of  the  said 
corporation  for  that  purpose  shall  order  and  appoint. 

Sec.  4.  That  William  Bennett,  Thomas  Drummond,  J.  C.  Goodhue, 
Peter  Semple,  J.  W.  Turner,  E.  D.  Taylor,  and  J.  B.  Thomas,  jr.,  shall 
be  commissioners  for  securing  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  said 
corporation,  who  shall  give  notice,  within  twelve  months  after  the  passage 
of  this  act,  of  the  time  and  place  where  books  will  be  opened  at  Galena  and 
Chicago,  and  such  other  places  as  they  may  deem  necessary,  in  some 
public  newspaper  printed  at  the  said  places,  at  least  thirty  days  previous  to 
the  opening  of  such  books  for  the  receiving  subscriptions  to  the  capital 
stock  of  said  corporation. 

The  majority  of  the  connnissioners  shall  attend  at  the  place  appointed 
by  such  notice  for  the  opening  of  said  books,  and  shall  continue  to  receive 
such  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  said  corporation,  from  all  persons 
who  will  subscribe  thereto,  until  the  whole  amount  thereof  shall  have 
been  subscribed,  when  the  said  books  shall  be  closed.  Each  subscriber, 
at  the  time  of  subscribing,  shall  pay  to  the  commissioners  one  dollar  on 
each  share  of  the  stock  subscribed  for  by  him,  and  the  said  commissioners 
shall,  as  soon  as  the  directors  are  elected,  deliver  to  them  the  whole 
amount  so  received. 

Sec.  5.  The  aflairs  of  said  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  a  board  of 
s^ven  directors,  to  be  annually  chosen  by  the  stockholders  from  among 


5  [  295  ] 

themselves,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the  stock  has  been  subscribed.  The 
commissioners  shall  give  notice  of  the  time  and  place  at  which  a  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  will  be  held  for  the  choice  of  directors.  And  at  such 
time  and  place  appointed  for  that  purpose,  the  commissioners,  or  a  majority 
of  them,  shall  attend  and  act  as  inspectors  of  said  election,  and  the  stock" 
holders  present  shall  proceed  to  elect  their  directors  by  ballot,  and  the 
commissioners  present  shall  certify  the  result  of  such  election  under  their 
hands;  which  certificate  shall  be  recorded  in  the  books  of  the  corporation, 
and  shall  be  sufficient  evidence  of  the  election  of  the  directors  therein 
named. 

All  future  elections  shall  be  held  at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  the  by-laws  and  regulations  of  the  said  corporation.  Each 
stockholder  shall  be  allowed  as  many  votes  as  he  owns  shares  at  the  com- 
mencement of  such  election,  and  a  plurality  of  votes  shall  determine  the 
choice;  but  no  stockholder  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  election  after  the 
first,  for  any  stock  which  shall  have  been  assigned  to  him  within  thirty 
days  previous  to  holding  such  election. 

The  said  directors  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year  after  their  elec- 
tion, and  shall  elect  one  of  their  number  as  president  of  the  said  board. 

Sec.  6.  The  said  corporation  is  authorized  to  constract,  make,  and  use, 
a  single  or  double  railroad  or  way,  of  suitable  widtb  and  dimensions,  to  be 
determined  by  the  said  corporation,  on  the  line,  course,  or  way  which 
may  be  designated  and  selected  by  the  directors  as  the  line,  course,  or 
way  whereon  to  construct  and  make  the  same;  and  shall  have  power  to 
regulate  the  time  and  manner  in  which  goods,  effects,  and  passengers  shall 
be  transported,  taken,  and  carried  on  the  same,  and  to  prescribe  the  manner 
in  Avhich  the  said  railroad  shall  be  used,  by  what  force  the  carriages  to 
be  used  thereon  may  be  propelled,  and  the  rate  of  toll  for  transportation  of 
persons  or  property  thereon;  and  shall  have  power  to  erect  and  maintain 
houses,  toll-gates,  and  other  buildings,  for  the  accommodation  and  manage- 
ment of  the  said  road,  and  transport  thereon  as  may  be  deemed  suitable  to 
their  interest.  And  they  may  also  construct,  maintain,  and  use  such 
other  lateral  routes  as  may  be  deemed  advantageous  and  expedient  and 
necessary,  under  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  by  this  act  is  provided 
for  the  constructing  of  the  main  route.  And  it  shall  be  lawful,  also,  for 
the  said  corporation  to  unite  with  any  other  railroad  company  already 
incorporated,  or  which  may  be  incorporated  upon  any  part  of  the  route  of 
said  road,  upon  such  terms  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  directors  of  said 
companies ;  and  also  to  construct  such  other  and  lateral  routes  as  may  be 
necessary  to  connect  them  with  any  other  route  or  routes  which  may  be 
deemed  expedient. 

Sec.  7.  If,  at  any  time  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  deemed  ad- 
visable by  the  directors  of  the  said  corporation  to  make  and  construct  a  good 
and  permanent  turnpike  road  upon  any  portion  of  the  route  of  the  railroad 
by  this  act  authorized  to  be  constmcted,  then  the  said  directors  are  hereby 
authorized  and  empowered  to  construct  a  turnpike,  or  any  portion  of  the 
said  route,  of  the  following  dimensions:  not  less  than  one  hundred  feet 
wide,  twenty-two  feet  of  which  shall  be  based  with  stone,  or  gravel,  or 
other  hard  substance,  well  compacted  together,  and  of  sufficient  depth  to 
secure  a  good  foundation  where  necessary,  the  whole  of  -which  shall  be 
faced  with  gravel  or  stone,  of  a  depth  not  less  than  six  inches,  in  such 
manner  as  to  secure  a  firm  and  even  surface,  rising  in  the  middle  by  a 


[  295  ]  6 

gradual  arch;  and  where  other  roads  may  intersect,  it  shall  be  so  con- 
structed that  carriages  may  conveniently  pass  over  the  turnpike  road.  And 
the  said  corporation  is  hereby  authorized  to  erect,  at  both  ends  of  said  road, 
and  at  such  other  points  upon  the  line  thereof,  as  many  gates  as  shall  be 
'deemed  necessary  thereon. 

Sec.  8.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  said  corporation  to  appoint  toll-gatherers  to 
collect  and  receive  of  and  from  all  persons  using  said  road,  the  following 
rates  of  toll,  to  wit:  For  each  and  eveiy  mile  of  transport  or  travel  upon 
the  said  turnpike  road,  for  a  man  and  horse,  two  cents;  or  for  a  single  per- 
son, one  cent.  For  four  or  six  horses  or  ox  wagon  and  driver,  loaded, 
three  cents;  and  for  the  same,  when  empty,  two  cents.  For  all  four-horse 
carriages  and  driver,  five  cents.  For  a  two-horse  wagon,  or  one  yoke  of 
oxen  and  wagon,  three  cents.  For  two-horse  pleasure  carriages,  four 
cents.  For  a  one-horse  carriage  or  gig,  two  cents.  For  horses,  mules,  or 
cattle  in  droves,  half  a  cent  per  head.  For  hogs,  goats,  and  sheep,  one 
mill  per  head.  When  sleds  are  used  instead  of  wheels,  one-half  of  the 
above  specified  toll.  And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  toll-gatherer  to  stop 
and  detain  any  person  from  going  on  said  road  until  he  shall  pay  to  him 
the  toll  propeiiy  chargeable  to  him;  and  when  any  person  shall  pay  to  the 
toll-gatherer  the  toll  chargeable  to  him,  the  toll-gatherer  shall  give  him  a 
ticket  authorizing  him  to  pass  the  whole  distance  of  the  road  for  which  he 
has  paid.  And  the  president  and  dii'ectors  shall  cause  to  be  kept  upon 
each  gate,  in  some  conspicuous  place  where  it  may  be  easily  read,  a 
printed  list  of  the  tolls  which  may  be  lawfully  demanded.  Said  corpora- 
tion shall  cause  to  be  erected  mile  posts  or  stones,  to  be  maintained,  and 
also  erect  guide-posts  at  the  intersection  of  all  higliways  leading  into  or 
from  such  turnpike  road,  on  which  shall  be  inscribed  the  name  of  the 
town  or  public  place  to  which  it  leads;  and  if  any  person  shall  wilfully  cut 
down  such  posts,  or  shall  wilfully  break  or  throw  down  any  of  the  said 
gates  or  turnpike,  or  shall  dig  or  spoil  any  of  the  said  road,  or  anything 
thereunto  belonging,  or  shall  forcibly  pass  either  of  the  gates  without  first 
having  paid  the  legal  tolls,  such  person  shall  pay  and  forfeit  for  every 
such  offence  and  injury  the  sum  of  twentj^-five  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by 
the  said  corporation  in  an  action  of  debt,  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of 
the  county  where  the  offender  or  offenders  may  be  found ;  and  if  any  per- 
son shall  turn  out  of  the  said  road  and  pass  any  of  the  gates,  and  again 
enter  upon  such  road  to  avoid  the  payment  of  toll,  he  shall  forfeit  to  the 
corporation  the  sum  of  five  dollars,  to  be  recovered  in  like  manner. 

Sec.  9.  If  any  toll-gatherer  shall  unreasonably  delay  or  hinder  any  trav- 
eller or  passenger,  or  shall  demand  more  toll  than  by  this  act  is  allowed, 
he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  person  injured  the  sum  of  five  dollars  in  the 
manner  provided  in  the  preceding  section;  and  if  he  shall  be  unable  to  pay 
it;,  the  corporation  shall  be  held  responsible  therefor. 

Sec.  10.  As  soon  as  five  miles  of  the  (any)  turnpike  road  shall  be  com- 
pleted, said  corporation  may  erect  gates  thereon,  and  collect  the  toll  allowed 
by  this  act.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  coiporation,  when  said 
road  shall  have  been  completed,  to  keep  it  in  good  repair;  and  whenever, 
from  any  cause  whatever,  the  same  shall  become  injured,  the  said  corpora- 
tion shall  immediately  proceed  to  repair  the  same.  And  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  said  corporation  to  commence  the  construction  of  the  said  railroad, 
or  way,  or  turnpike,  at  such  points  on  any  part  of  the  aforesaid  route  or 
routes  hereinbefore  described,  as  in  its  judgment  may  appear  expedient 


?  ^  [  295  ] 

and  proper.  Said  corporation  are  authorized  to  borrow  any  sum  of  money 
whicli  may  in  their  discretion  be  deemed  necessary,  not  exceeding  its 
capital  stock,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  tlie  said  road;  and  if  it  shall 
at  any  time  appear  to  the  said  corporation  that  any  part  thereof,  or  any 
surplus  funds,  are  not  necessaiy  to  be  retained,  the  same  may  be  loaned 
on  such  terms  as  the  directors  of  the  said  coi^po ration  may  deem  proper; 
not,  however,  at  a  higher  rate  of  interest  than  that  now  allowed  by  the 
laws  of  this  State. 

Sec.  11.  In  case  the  corporation  shaH  not  be  able  to  acquire  the  title  to 
the  lands  through  which  the  said  road  shall  be  laid,  by  piu'chase  or  vohm- 
tery  cession,  it  shall  be  lawfid  for  the  said  corporation  to  appropriate  so 
much  of  said  lands  as  may  be  necessary  for  its  own  use,  for  the  purposes 
contemplated  by  this  act,  on  complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  six  fol- 
lowing sections. 

Sec.  12.  The  directors  may  present  a  petition  to  the  judge  of  the  circuit 
court  of  the  county  in  which  the  said  land  may  be  situate,  setting  forth  by 
some  proper  description  the  lands  which  are  wanted  for  the  construction  of 
said  railroad,  or  turnpike;,  or  the  appendages  thereto,  and  the  names  of  the 
owners  thereof,  if  known;  distinguishing  with  convenient  certainty,  if  it 
can  be  done,  the  parcels  claimed  in  severalty  by  the  respective  owners^ 
and  praying  for  the  appointment  of  appraisers  to  assess  the  damages  which 
the  OAvners  of  said  land  will  severally  sustain  by  reason  of  the  appropria- 
tion thereof  by  the  said  corporation  to  its  own  use. 

Sec.  13.  On  the  presentment  of  such  petition,  said  circuit  judge  shall 
appoint  a  day  for  the  hearing  of  the  parties  in  interest,  and  shall  direct 
such  notice  as  he  shall  deem  reasonable,  to  be  given  of  the  time  and  place 
of  hearings  and  in  case  it  shall  appear  that  any  of  the  owners  of  said  lands- 
is  a  femrne  covei't,  an  inmnt  or  insane,  or  otherwise  incompetent  to  take 
proper  care  of  his  or  her  interest,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  judge  to 
appoint  some  discreet  and  reputable  person  to  act  in  the  premises,  in  his  or 
her  behalf. 

Sec  14.  At  the  time  appointed  for  such  hearing,  the  said  judge  shall 
appoint  three  disinterested  persons,  freeholders,  residents  of  the  county  in 
which  said  lands  may  lie,  for  the  pm-pose  of  assessing  such  damages,  and,^ 
in  the  order  in  which  they  were  appointed,  shall  direct  and  specify  what 
lands  are  proposed  to  be  appropriated  and  occupied  by  the  said  corpora- 
tion for  the  purpose  aforesaid. 

Sec.  15.  Said  appraisers,  after  being  duly  sworn  before  some  officer 
properly  authorized  to  administer  oaths,  honestly  and  impartially  to  assess 
such  damages,  shall  proceed,- by  viewing  said  lands,  and  by  such  other 
evidence  as  the  parties  may  produce  before  them,  to  ascertain  and  assess 
the  damages  which  each  individual  owner  will  sustain  by  the  appropria- 
tion of  his  lands  for  the  use  or  accommodation  of  such  railroad  or  turnpike, 
or  their  appendages. 

Sec  1G.  The  said  appraisers  shall  make  a  report  to  the  said  judge,  in 
writing,  under  their  hands,  reciting  the  order  for  their  appointment,  and 
specifying  the  several  parcels  described  therein  with  all  necessary  certainty,, 
the  names  of  the  owners  of  the  respective  parcels,  if  known,  and  if  not 
known  stating  the  fact,  and  specifying  also  the  damages  which  the  owners 
of  the  said  respective  parcels  will  sustain  by  reason  of  the  appropriation  of 
the  same  for  the  purposes  aforesaid;  and  in  case  either  of  the  parties  are 


[  295  ]  ^^        « 

dissatisfied  with  the  assessment,  the  said  judge  may,  on  the  hearing  of  the 
parties  in  interest,  modify  the  assessment  as  to  him  shall  appear  just. 

Sec.  17.  On  the  payment  of  the  damages  thus  assessed,  together  with 
the  expenses  of  assessment,  as  the  same  shall  be  settled  by  said  judge,  or 
on  depositing  the  amount  thereof  for  the  use  of  such  owners,  in  such  bank 
or  moneyed  incorporation  as  the  said  judge  shall  direct,  the  said  corporation 
shall  immediately  become  entitled  to  the  use  of  said  lands  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid;  and  the  report  of  the  said  appraisers,  with  the  order  of  said 
judge,  modifying  the  same,  if  the  same  shall  have  been  modified,  shall  be 
recorded  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  the  county  in  which  said  lands 
shall  be  situate,  in  the  same  manner  and  the  like  effect  as  deeds  are 
recorded,  without  any  other  proof  than  the  certificate  of  the  said  judge 
that  the  report  is  genuine. 

Sec.  18.  And  when  the  said  order  shall  have  been  so  recorded  as  afore- 
said, the  said  corporation  shall  be  seized  and  possessed  of  such  land  or  real 
estate,  and  may  enter  upon  and  take  possession,  and  use  the  same  for  the 
purposes  hereinbefore  recited. 

Sec.  19.  Said  corporation  shall  be  bound  to  repair  ail  public  highways, 
bridges,  and  watercourses,  which  may  be  injured  in  constructing  said 
railroad  or  its  appendages;  and  shall  restore  them,  as  far  as  practicable,  to 
as  good  a  condition  as  they  were  before  they  were  injured. 

Sec.  20.  The  said  corporation  shall  be  allowed  three  years  from  the 
passage  of  this  act  for  th€  commencement  of  the  construction  of  the  said 
railroad  and  turnpike;  and  in  case  the  same  shall  not  be  completed  within 
ten  years  thereafter,  the  privileges  herein  granted  shall  be  forfeited. 

Sec.  21.  Any  person  who  shall  wilfully  injure  said  road,  or  any  of  the 
appendages  thereto,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall 
forfeit  to  the  use  of  the  coi^poration  a  sum  equal  to  three  times  the  amount 
of  damages  occasioned  by  such  injuiy;  to  be  recovered,  with  costs  of  suit, 
in  the  name  of  such  corporation,  in  an  action  of  debt,  before  any  court 
having  cognizance  thereof,  or  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  in  the 
county  where  such  injury  or  offence  may  have  been  committed. 

Sec.  22.  This  act  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  as  a  public  act,  and  shall 
be  construed  beneficially  for  all  purposes  herein  specified  or  intended;  and 
all  copies  thereof,  printed  by  or  under  the  direction  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  this  State,  shall  be  received  in  all  courts  and  places  whatsoever  in 
said  State,  as  sufficient  evidence  thereof,  without  further  proof. 

JAMES  TEMPLE, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
A.  M.  JENKINS, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Approved-,  16th  January,  1836. 

JOSEPH  DUNCAN. 

State  op  Illinois,  Department  of  State  : 

I,  Alexander  P.  Field,  secretary  of  state  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  do 
certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  true  copy  of  the  enrolled  bill  on  file  in  this 
department. 

In  testimony  whereof,  i  have  hereunto  signed  my  name,  and  affixed 
[l.  s.]       the  State  seal,  at  Vandalia,  the  29th  January,  1836. 

A.  P.  FIELD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


9  [295] 

AN  ACT  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company, 

approved  January  16,  1836. 

Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  represented 
in  the  General  Assembly,  That  the  capital  stock  of  the  Galena  and  Chicago 
Union  Railroad  Company  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  authorized  to  be, 
increased  to  a  sum  not  exceeding  one  million  of  dollars,  in  addition  to 
its  present  capital,  with  the  assent  of  the  stockholders  of  the  said  com- 
pany, to  enable  them  to  complete  the  construction  of  the  road  authorized 
by  the  charter  of  said  company. 

Sec.  2,  The  said  additional  capital  stock  shall  be  taken  under  and 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  third  section  of  the  original  act  of  incor- 
poration; and  the  time  for  the  final  completion  of  said  road  is  extended 
five  years:  and  the  said  company  having  apphed  to  the  United  States  for 
a  right  of  way  over  the  public  lands,  may  receive,  take,  and  hold  all  such 
lands  as  may  be  ceded  or  granted  to  said  company  by  the  United  States, 
or  by  individuals,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  construct  said  road, 
or  to  erect  thereon  depots,  toll-houses,  and  for  such  other  purposes  and 
uses  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  and  useful  to  said  company;  and  they 
may  dispose  of  any  fractional  or  surplus  portion  thereof,  if  any  there  should 
be,  whenever  it  shall  appear  that  so  much  thereof  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  be  retained  whereon  to  construct  said  road;  and  erect  such  depots, 
toll-houses,  and  other  appendages,  to  raise  additional  means  wherewith  to 
enable  said  company  to  construct  said  road  in  the  best  possible  manner. 

Sec.  3.  Should  it  appear  impracticable  for  the  said  company  to  con- 
struct the  said  road  the  whole  distance  contemplated  by  said  act,  or  that  it 
would  be  more  advantageous  to  the  company,  or  the  public  interest,  that 
the  said  road  should  be  connected  with  the  State  Central  railroad,  then 
the  said  company  are  authorized  to  terminate  the  said  road  at  such  point 
as  shall  be  deemed  most  practicable,  and  may  intersect  and  connect  the 
said  road  with  the  said  Central  railroad  in  its  course  to  Galena:  Provided, 
Nothing  contained  within  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  authorize  the  said 
company  to  have,  purchase,  receive,  or  hold  any  land  upon  any  line  of 
any  railroad  authorized  to  be  constructed  by  the  State,  nor  to  construct 
any  railroad  upon  or  near  the  same  line,  or  any  railroad  authorized  to  be 
constructed  by  the  State. 

NEWTON  CLOUD, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  pro  tern. 
W.  H.  DAVIDSON, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Approved,  4th  March,  1837. 

JOSEPH  DUNCAN. 
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